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John Denver

Indigo Blue

By Indigo Blue,
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Indigo Blue

Indigo Blue

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Do you love his music or not? 
 

I watched a movie about him last night. It was pretty good. I may watch a documentary tonight. 
 

Every time I listen to his music, it puts me into a very melancholy state. I have to be in the right kind of mood to be able to handle all the melancholy. The lyrics are so sensitive and his voice so pure and soul-piercing. 
 

As he was rising to fame, Rolling Stone magazine printed some very negative criticism of his music and of him personally. He didn’t fit the narrative of what was “in” at the time. A lot of times when this happens, it ruins a career because public opinion often automatically follows and agrees. But so many people loved his music anyway, and he became one of the biggest performers of the decade. 
 

I didn’t pay much attention to him when I was younger. Now, I think his music was truly special, and there will never be anyone like him. 

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Annie G

Annie G

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I really loved his music when I was a teen in the 1970’s.  You feeling sad when you listen to his music makes sense since as a teen I had All The Emotions.  And I loved the freedom he had- living in the mountains was my idea of freedom and nature was my escape. 
These days I love hearing one of his songs on a playlist or on the radio. His voice is lovely. 

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marbel

marbel

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I never really loved John Denver's music all that much. But, I understand the emotions around the music. 

When I was in middle school I listened to James Taylor every day. Some of his songs are very melancholy, especially the earlier stuff - which is when I was listening. I used to semi-joke that his music saved my life. I'd come home from school, which I hated from a social standpoint, and put on his Sweet Baby James album and felt like everything could be all right.  Later I stopped liking him so much, but I have recently started listening again. Some of his songs evoke powerful emotions.

Anyway, not to derail and talk about a different musician, just meant to comment on a musician and their music can make us feel.

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Indigo Blue

Indigo Blue

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7 minutes ago, marbel said:

I never really loved John Denver's music all that much. But, I understand the emotions around the music. 

When I was in middle school I listened to James Taylor every day. Some of his songs are very melancholy, especially the earlier stuff - which is when I was listening. I used to semi-joke that his music saved my life. I'd come home from school, which I hated from a social standpoint, and put on his Sweet Baby James album and felt like everything could be all right.  Later I stopped liking him so much, but I have recently started listening again. Some of his songs evoke powerful emotions.

Anyway, not to derail and talk about a different musician, just meant to comment on a musician and their music can make us feel.

You might like this. I loved it. No auto tune. Just his beautiful voice and guitar. You can feel his sadness, too. 
 

 

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Ali in OR

Ali in OR

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Our family had at least one of his albums, so this falls in the category of music that brings back childhood memories for me. I do like his music and will sing along to many of his songs, but not sure how much is just the music itself/him as a singer and how much is the memories. Like if I was young and just discovering this music now I don't know that it would have the same effect.

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MercyA

MercyA

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1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

Every time I listen to his music, it puts me into a very melancholy state. I have to be in the right kind of mood to be able to handle all the melancholy. The lyrics are so sensitive and his voice so pure and soul-piercing. 

Yes. This is why I usually can't listen to it--especially Matthew and Annie's Song. I felt the exact same way when my dad played John Denver on vinyl when I was a little girl.

His was the first concert I went to. I don't remember much. I remember my dad taking me outside when I was restless. I wasn't very old. We saw his limo and heard him start playing a song we knew while we were outside--I think it was Grandma's Featherbed. I had a candy bar in a brown paper bag. 🙂 

He was tremendously talented. 

Edited by MercyA
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Grace Hopper

Grace Hopper

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48 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

You might like this. I loved it. No auto tune. Just his beautiful voice and guitar. You can feel his sadness, too. 
 

 

There was a time when a few major artists did “unplugged” albums of top songs. Those were always my favorites. 
 

You don’t have to have the best voice to make truly moving music. 

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kbutton

kbutton

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I’ve been a fan since I was in a car seat belting out what words I knew from the back seat. Literally before I could remember, and I have many solid and vivid memories from age two on.

One documentary I watched referred to his popularity in objective terms of hits, albums sold, etc., and after hearing those stats, I feel completely justified in loving his music. He was extremely popular, but he was kind of his own genre, and maybe we are all our own genre of audience too.

Annie’s Song and Sunshine on My Shoulders always made me teary as a kid.

I didn’t have a broad collection of his music as a kid, so I heard Calypso as an adult and immediately felt like I was on a boat—every sound with every instrument sounded like water and movement. It was like watching an episode of Flipper as a little girl. My brother watched so much Jacque Cousteau as a kid too, and while I wasn’t as into it as him, it reminded me of his intensity watching it.

It was also nice to share his song about the Challenger disaster with a friend who missed that song when it came out. She was very moved by the disaster and was shocked and happy that a song memorialized it.

Fun thread! 

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Indigo Blue

Indigo Blue

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12 minutes ago, SKL said:

Yes, I love his music.  Now I want to listen to it!

I had a CD of his music, but it got stolen (along with all my CDs at the time) when my car was burgled.  I should buy myself a new one for Christmas.  🙂

Make a Spotify playlist!

And get a good Bluetooth speaker. You don’t need a CD. 😁😁

(My son refuses to do that. He loves his CDs. And he loves vinyl. He is sad that the cd player no longer works in his car. He knows the next car will not have one). 

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kbutton

kbutton

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10 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

For documentaries, I just googled on YouTube. A few came up. I haven’t watched any of those. I haven’t checked Netflix or Prime yet. 

I think the PBS one on Prime is the one I watched.

https://www.amazon.com/John-Denver-Country-Boy/dp/B00WWEO5KI#:~:text=This definitive documentary explores the,anniversary of his 70th birthday.

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scholastica

scholastica

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My parents LOVED John Denver. They went to see him in concert, which they rarely did for anyone. We grew up listening to his music. Last year, my dad went on hospice and we visited him for what we knew would be the last time. We drove home (a several state journey) and went through West Virginia. As soon as we crossed the border, we put on Take Me Home, Country Roads to torture, I mean share with, the kids (teens and young adults). I cried the whole time. I still cannot listen to John Denver without thinking of my dad and crying. My dad fostered my love of music of all kinds and I am grateful for that. 

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Resilient

Resilient

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He was my go-to in since I was 14.  I saw him live at Redrocks and I owned all the vinyl he ever made.  And we saw him sing the national anthem at a Broncos game.  THAT performance was what won my DH to his music.  
 

this #2 was the live performance I went to.  https://www.denverpost.com/2016/06/03/10-most-memorable-concerts-in-red-rocks-history/

Edited by Resilient
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Annie G

Annie G

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John Denver was the first concert I ever went to, in Atlanta in 1975. My dad drove 14 year old me and my friend and waited at the Omni International til the show was over.  Quite memorable because it was one of two childhood memories I have where my dad did something like that for me.  

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wintermom

wintermom

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I did enjoy his music in my youth. Sing-alongs with family or friends always included Country Roads.

When I was really young, and played Barbies with my sister, the Ken doll was always named John Denver. I had no idea what he looked like, as I'd usually hear his music on the radio. He seemed like a good partner for Barbie, though. 😄

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chocolate-chip chooky

chocolate-chip chooky

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5 hours ago, MercyA said:

Yes. This is why I usually can't listen to it--especially Matthew and Annie's Song. I felt the exact same way when my dad played John Denver on vinyl when I was a little girl.

His was the first concert I went to. I don't remember much. I remember my dad taking me outside when I was restless. I wasn't very old. We saw his limo and heard him start playing a song we knew while we were outside--I think it was Grandma's Featherbed. I had a candy bar in a brown paper bag. 🙂 

He was tremendously talented. 

My experience is so similar. My parents are huge John Denver fans. So much so in fact that I was going to be called Denver if I was a boy. True story.

I think I was under 10 when I went to a John Denver concert here in Brisbane. 

I don't seek out John Denver songs often at all, but when I do it's definitely melancholy as the primary emotion.

Annie's Song. My Calypso. There's one about an eagle. 'I am an eagle, I fly in high country' or something like that. 

 

I totally attribute my fangirl tendencies to my Mum and my upbringing 😉

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Shoeless

Shoeless

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I really can't deal with his songs. They feel so sappy and from-another-era. My parents were into John Denver big time, a long with Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow. *Shudder*

I am a fan of the John Denver Muppets Christmas special, though. 

Edited by Shoeless
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Amethyst

Amethyst

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I really like John Denver. I saw him in concert when I was in 8th grade. I recently listened to several of his songs in a row. I was surprised by how many I still really really like. Even the ones that I feel were overplayed, like Sunshine on My shoulder and Take Me Home Country Roads, I really enjoyed. I’m not a country music person now AT ALL. And maybe some people wouldn’t consider him truly country. But yes, I really enjoy his music. 
 

And for the record, I even loved the movie Oh God that he was in with George Burns. 

Edited by Amethyst
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Resilient

Resilient

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From upthread:  There's one about an eagle. 'I am an eagle, I fly in high country' or something like that

The last line is Reach for the heavens and hop for the future and all that we can be and not what we are.  
 

this became our senior class moment to and I sang and played the guitar at our graduation.  🥳

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WendyLady

WendyLady

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His music is really nostalgic for me. We had a cassette tape that we listened to on a long cross-country drive, moving from Oregon to Florida when my dh joined the military in 2000. We had two little girls and we sang along to John Denver all across the country. Calypso was so fun to hear as we drove by the ocean for the first time! It was an "oldies" tape from my childhood, even then, and became a tradition for our children as part of our road trip repertoire. Also, my husband plays the guitar and has played some of his songs over the years. Listening to John Denver just brings back memories of that exciting time and is comforting somehow. I don't think of his songs as sad, but maybe I only play his happier songs to sing along to in the car.

 

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lmrich

lmrich

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love his songs and some of my favorite memories involve someone playing his songs on a guitar and everyone joining  in. 

We had Annie's song and Follow Me as music before our wedding  started. (Maybe I was weird but I had a lot of folks sing before the  actual  wedding started) 

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Just Kate

Just Kate

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1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I’m from WV. We’re required to at least like that song. 😀 I do prefer James Taylor though. 

I’m also from WV (and graduated from WVU - Country Roads is a requirement there!). Funny thing is, the lyrics of the song really aren’t about WV. They focus more on western Virginia. Oh, and I heard that John Denver had never even visited the state of WV before writing Country Roads, which was always kind is sad to me. I just pretend like that’s not the case and belt the lyrics with my friends anytime the song is played (usually at a party or WVU football game). 

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KungFuPanda

KungFuPanda

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8 hours ago, Just Kate said:

I’m also from WV (and graduated from WVU - Country Roads is a requirement there!). Funny thing is, the lyrics of the song really aren’t about WV. They focus more on western Virginia. Oh, and I heard that John Denver had never even visited the state of WV before writing Country Roads, which was always kind is sad to me. I just pretend like that’s not the case and belt the lyrics with my friends anytime the song is played (usually at a party or WVU football game). 

I think he meant for it it be but he picked geographical elements that barely glance against the edge of the state. The rest of the song is more on theme. 🤣

And Let’s Gooooooooooooo Mountaineers. 😬

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Starr

Starr

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The Muppets loved him. That’s always a plus. I was always amused by his outdoor television look. He was the cleanest most pressed hiker, canoe r , ever. I liked his music. We all knew his songs. As mentioned above it was a time of a guitar and singing together. 

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Just Kate

Just Kate

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33 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I think he meant for it it be but he picked geographical elements that barely glance against the edge of the state. The rest of the song is more on theme. 🤣

And Let’s Gooooooooooooo Mountaineers. 😬

Yes, I’m sure he did. And Let’s Gooooo!!!! 💙💛

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Mary in VA

Mary in VA

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21 hours ago, Just Kate said:

I’m also from WV (and graduated from WVU - Country Roads is a requirement there!). Funny thing is, the lyrics of the song really aren’t about WV. They focus more on western Virginia. Oh, and I heard that John Denver had never even visited the state of WV before writing Country Roads, which was always kind is sad to me. I just pretend like that’s not the case and belt the lyrics with my friends anytime the song is played (usually at a party or WVU football game). 

Yay, verification! I am in Virginia (transplant) and my son-in-law, hard core Virginian, loves Country Roads. He always INSISTS it's talking about western Virginia NOT West Virginia. He says the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River are mainly in Virginia. I had no idea if he was right, but if a West Virginian says so than maybe so.😀

I was a hardcore John Denver fan in high school. Had all his albums on vinyl and spent senior skip day in line to buy tickets to one of his concerts in 1976.

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